Sega Genesis Games That Pushed the Limit | Friday Night Arcade

Sega Genesis does what Ninten-don't -- oh yeah? Well let's just see. Here's some Sega Genesis / Mega Drive games that flat out pushed the limit of what the 16-bit console could do in its day on this edition of Friday Night Arcade.
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[00:00] - Intro
[00:38] - Vectorman 1 & 2
[02:04] - Red Zone
[03:17] - Zero Tolerance
[05:00] - The Adventures of Batman & Robin
[06:40] - Star Cruiser (Japan only)
[08:54] - Duke Nukem 3D (Brazil only)
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#segagenesis #segamegadrive #FridayNightArcade

[@robintst]

Some helpful info for anyone wondering: Rendering 3D polygons in those days was strictly CPU-driven, this was before dedicated hardware accelerators. The Motorola 68k CPU in the Genesis, which clocks at 7.67 MHz, is what handles all the arithmetic and rendering for the geometry, the VDP chip only handles 2D. It's speed, along with having 32-bit registers internally and being connected to a 16-bit bus, means it has the overhead to achieve this without the need for special chips in the cartridges. It doesn't always make for playable games but it's an impressive technical feat of the hardware. :-)

[@lantinkan9013]

9⁹

[@lantinkan9013]

iui 8⁸oil 9

[@lantinkan9013]

iui ii88 iou

[@Longlostpuss]

The Mega Drive was an animal

[@robw5741]

So the "helpful info" only deals with genesis?

[@stevenmorning4551]

Flashback, Earthworm Jim, Toy Story and Virtual Racer were great graphically then too

[@LexMalin]

"Virtua Racer" uses SVP chip plugged in a cartridge

[@marianoyuba3736]

@@LexMalin True. It was, nonetheless, a technological MARVEL for the time (And a damn good game to own, i tell you), but yeah...it doesn't quite count in this list. (Good or bad, the 3D games here did it on the merits of their programming alone)

[@brorianszk]

@Robert Pierson And is still awesome to play.

[@brorianszk]

@Robert Pierson The game is really unique and the controls are perfect. Sad that the game is too short.

[@judgegroovyman]

LexMalin in game chips used were irrelevant. That’s how Doom, and Starfox were so amazing on SNES. It still pushed the limit of the hardware.

[@prpredatorz310]

Surprised nobody here mentioned Gunstar Heros, pretty impressive game the way used the Genesis.

[@chrisharmon1985]

My favorite Sega game

[@Zx14rrrrrrrrrrr]

That's about the only game I have ever played multiple times from the Genesis.

[@dyster6747]

That‘s because people with no clue should avoid making videos about certain things.

[@SuikodenGR]

A man of Culture. Homing shrunken for days

[@JackSparrow-sk8mx]

Alien Soldier destroys Gunstar Heroes in every way. Also same developer

[@Lynxx377]

About TecToy: Yes, they had the license, it was an official product. TecToy made an amazing job in Brazil with SEGA videogames. Since the Master System, they offered official support, official translations to portuguese, telephone services with cheats and tips... In Brazil at the 80s and early 90s was difficult to find official videogame products, so TecToy had a deal with SEGA to offer official support. This is why even today the Master System and the Genesis/MD are so popular in Brazil.

[@spaceinvader6735]

The story about Duke Nukem's license isn't that Tec Toy stole it. They bought a license to release the game from a company that, as later legal fights showed, didn't actually have the right to do that. Of course there was no way Tec Toy would know that, and apparently the license was granted in good faith, but the decision that came later changed everything.

[@medes5597]

You've misunderstood. No one accuses techtoy of impropriety. It was a mistake.

[@andrewmaasch1724]

Rocket Knight Adventures, Mega Turrican and Castlevania Bloodlines are all graphically impressive games that are also fun to play 😊

[@deibyberas6461]

You dont know power till you play Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master.

[@boudreaux550]

Great video. Toy Story on Genesis had great graphics. One of the developers has a channel, Gamehut, where he goes into detail how they pulled it off.

[@Kousaburo]

As well as the opening for Sonic 3D, jaw dropping stuff.

[@FridayNightArcade]

Ahh thanks - will check these out guys.

[@chrisovak]

Yo, thanks for the tip! Appreciated

[@CardboardSliver]

And Castle of Illusion.

[@marianoyuba3736]

@@FridayNightArcade I should also recommend Mickey Mania, just drop dead gorgeous. Apart from that, i would like to recommend you to make a video about the best/worst Genesis arcade ports. Considering that Sega more or less SOLD the Genesis as a great port machine, it would be nice to see how well it fared.

[@DaveMire]

Contra Hard Corps had some really cool effects in it. Konami knew exactly how to play up to the Genesis' strengths. (mutitudes of fast moving sprites)

[@Lightblue2222]

I still remember going into Toys R Us and pulling my slip for Vectorman. I bought it for the cover alone and wasn't disappointed.

[@Echoesoftimelover]

Nice bruh

[@mowiezowie3261]

I remember going to Toys R’ Us and my parents buying buying me Vectorman 2 and my new Sega Genesis for my birthday but when I brought it home, I realize I couldn’t play it because my dumbass picked up the 32x attachment to the Genesis.

[@forgottencameras]

Exact same story here.

[@Lightblue2222]

@@mowiezowie3261 lmfao

[@danielt.8573]

I miss the feeling of actually having the money to purchase a new game, informing myself of what was good in a few magazines, travelling to the store in antecipation, taking it from the shelf where so many colorful others were, smelling the scent of new plastic and paper, bringing it home in a physical jewel case while reading the manual, physically plug the cartridge into the console and play the game forever.

[@FridayNightArcade]

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[@OwtDaftUK]

The 3D section of Toy Story looks a lot cleaner than that Duke game-play.

[@dtester]

One thing worth mentioning about Vector Man was that many of the characters were made of multiple simple objects being moved around the screen rather that one large object with frames of animation. Because they used pre-rendered "spheres" that they could move individually, they created the illusion of high frame rate 3D animation which is why it looks so smooth.

[@jimmyguy428]

Zero Tolerance also had co-op play by the use of a special cable that I had to buy through the mail. The cable would link two Genesis consoles via the second control ports. Unfortunately, along with the co-op cable, you needed two copies of the game, two Genesis consoles, and two TVs. My brother and I used to connect our two consoles together using controller extension cables to lengthen the co-op cable. This way we could connect my Genesis setup in my bedroom to the his Genesis setup in the living room. It was wild to play co-op like this back in the '90s, other than PC that is!

[@barry-allenthe-flash8396]

Anything by Treasure is pretty much guaranteed to be good-looking, but _Dynamite Headdy_ is probably their most ambitious Genesis game - the sprite manipulation in that is crazy. There's always tons of stuff going on, tons of sprites, rotating, bouncing around, giant-sized sprites for bosses. There are some really stunning non-Sonic sidescrollers on the system - Rocket Knight Adventures, Ristar, and Pulseman come to mind - but the stuff Treasure did back on Sega hardware (for the Genesis and the Saturn) was always standout. Glad you found some of these btw! I only discovered stuff like Red Zone and Star Cruiser earlier this year myself thanks to your earlier review on the former, and Nostalgia Nerd's vid (Megadrive / Genesis first person shooters) for the latter. I love it when good retro gaming YT channels find these fascinating obscure titles! I highly recommend that vid by Nostalgia Nerd, btw - _Bloodshot/Battle Frenzy_ is REALLY COOL LOOKING. Here's a link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYWZeoh9pNmAqrc As always, great vid! Thanks for brightening up my Friday Night after work :)

[@gallowaygaming75]

Dynamite Headey was a great platformer and so was rocket knight adventure great to look at and excellent gameplay I will check nostalgia nerd channel cheers

[@paddyb3510]

I just got a bunch of flashbacks.. happy ones. Thanks dude!

[@PYoro-kh3bb]

Dynamite Headdy is pretty neat and does some pretty impressive stuff in certain levels.

[@MarshCreature]

tek toy is also responsible for keeping the master system alive to this day. At least in brazil. They have ported games like battletoads nes, earth worm jim and many other genesis games to the master system and even released some brazil exclusive games for the master system. I admire that little company with all my heart.

[@FridayNightArcade]

Interesting .... I didn't realize TekToy had such a history. Thanks for sharing.

[@MikeThePsykat]

@ Friday Night Arcade. From what little I know of the situation, it seems that Brazil has some crazy expensive import tax, but Sega partnered with Tek Toy who would manufacture the Master System and it's games in Brazil greatly lower the cost of the console there. However, from what I've also heard, it seemed that most people there didn't understand the difference between 8 bit and 16 bit hardware so it was harder to sell Genesis, er, Mega Drive units and thus the Master System flourished. How true that last part is, I'm not sure, but the tax thing is one of the key reasons things like that Duke Nukem 3D Master System "port" is a thing. A few gamming KZbinrs have gone more in depth on this topic then I ever could, so it might be worth a search if you ever have the time.

[@DrunkinPunch]

Also done street fighter 2 and it’s not bad for 8bit

[@inktendo]

Friday Night Arcade Hi there, Brazilian here! You are 100% right in your comment. The taxes here are so outrageous that nowadays a ps4 goes for around 2500 reais and the minimum wage is at 1000 reais. So by keeping the Master System and Genesis(called Mega Drive right, like Europe and Japan) alive for so long, TecToy (it's spelled with a C btw hahaha) makes them entry points for young people and are usually given as a gift for little kids by their parents since usually people can't afford a modern console. The Master System, Genesis and even to some extent the Game Gear, are very much alive in Brazil, and while not many new games are being made for them, I remember a Guitar Hero clone TecToy release around the Guitar Hero-craze. My first video game was a Genesis while the Nintendo 64 was the most advanced console in the market. And I imagine a lot of kids even today have the same experience. I, for once, am grateful to have experienced those classics while the industry was moving away from them!

[@ZeusTheIrritable]

I'm always fascinated at what developers can do with limited hardware when they know what they're doing and are given enough time to work. That Batman game looks absolutely amazing!

[@jasonblalock4429]

It also helps that the Genesis was a genuinely powerful system, and its two CPUs (an M68000 and a Z80) are both among the most popular processors in history. So it had great hardware under the hood, and there were lots of programmers who knew how to take advantage of it. (This is why I tend to consider the Genesis superior to the SNES. It was *such* a developer-friendly platform.)

[@zenksren8206]

The guys who made both Batman and Red Zone were Amiga demoscene programmers originally so yeah

[@jasonblalock4429]

@@zenksren8206 And, of course, the Amiga had an M68000 as its main CPU.

[@tskraj3190]

@Dean Satan Wrong in every way

[@tartuffethesprywonderdog5883]

@Timothy Isenhart How? He's right about all of the technical stuff. If you prefer SNES, that's fine, but you can't dispute that Genesis had much better hardware. Even the Sega Master System had a faster processor than SNES, for Pete's sake!

[@mistertitanic]

Definitely check out Comix Zone, Contra: Hard Corps, Ecco: The Tides of Time, and Ranger X. Oh! And if you’re looking for more FMV on a Genesis, check out Sonic 3D Blast!

[@FridayNightArcade]

Thanks! I'll check those out! I've heard really good things about Ecco.

[@Alianger]

There's also matteusbeus FMV demos for MD, some of which I've done some music for. :)

[@PENNSYLVANIA5999]

Try enternal champions The gore the gore I am thinking modern day version would be too violent to be a game

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@PENNSYLVANIA5999 Pretty sure modern Mortal Kombat is a prime example that it isn't. That being said... I'm generally not a fan of detailed violence in 2D. I have no problem with it in 3D games or even that much in movies, but in 2D games it makes me uncomfortable. A bit less in cartoons and anime. I'm fine with simple decapitations, being cut in half of limbs saying bye bye, but detailed 2D gore (even if not realistic) does make me feel somewhat uncomfortable (yet I still read extremely violent manga).

[@thenonexistinghero]

@@paxhumana2015 Ah yes, I give a proper example and then a really dumb person starts to call me dumb. Just when I think the average person couldn't get any dumber they keep surprising me.

[@regh1mself]

Disney's Aladdin. Graphics, music, control, pace. Uh-mazing.

[@AfroSnackey]

Alien Soldier is a monster of a game if you get a chance to play it.

[@FridayNightArcade]

Thanks - that one is definitely on the list :D

[@zenksren8206]

I'm surprised you didn't include Ranger X in this video

[@DemonicRemption]

@Zenks ren I apologize but... HOLY HELL YOU PLAYED RANGER-X?! :O Sorry, it's I thought I was the only one who played that game...>_>

[@megaruhe6296]

Ranger X was awesome.

[@theimperfectgod7140]

Oh yes... i lovethis game. The parallax still is 👌

[@luckytheif3312]

Zenks ren this one somehow managed to use 256 color which megadrive only supports 64 colors at once, perhaps the developers used an extra chip or created a software to bypass megadrive's color count.

[@ClevertonHeusner]

Impressive. Maybe a part 2 with Alien Soldier and Ex-Ranza.

[@claudiocosta2076]

And Pulseman too!!

[@avideogamemaster]

Barely people talk about Jurassic Park The Lost World. Some great graphic effects in that game.

[@bennahum9642]

Mostly in the minigames, I agree.

[@Alianger]

Yeah definitely, good use of shadow/hilight mode for more colors too.

[@chzzyg2698]

That was my pack-in game when I got my Sega. I beat the crap out of it.

[@nightmuffin937]

That was probably The LAST great Genesis game.

[@gabrielleraul488]

The lost World, such a beautifully made game, and epic special levels, I highly recommend it. And... Alien Soldier... Damn that game was mind blowing! Surely pushed the 16 bit hardware.

[@backinthedaygamer]

Batman and Robin would probly be in my top 3 if it wasn’t SO TOUGH. Everything about it is fantastic. I wish I could get 1/4 way through the game lol

[@FridayNightArcade]

Yeah, full disclosure.... I'm not above using cheat codes to get the footage required for these videos lol.

[@MJbulls23airJs]

My bro & I ran through this game a hundred times and managed to beat it once. So tough

[@HaohmaruHL]

Just like megaman games it's all about practice. I managed to beat it with only one death which was pretty stupid. I have the full playthrough on my channel for it

[@soundwave8560]

I beat that game MANY many times as a kid. The only stage I always have trouble in is the mad hatter stage, second part with the mini boss and the last level.

[@STOCKHOLM07]

My brother and I played that so much. I'd probably have to cheat to get very far now

[@Kousaburo]

Sonic 3D (the pinnacle of Genesis graphics), Thunder Force IV, Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, Alien Soldier.

[@jeremyjohnson8844]

3D blast was prerendered, I don't call that the pinnacle of Genesis gfx. Something like Gunstar or Alien Soldier.

[@drakeolmos1981]

Sonic 2 and Streets Of Rage 2 as well

[@butcherax]

The special stages in Sonic 3D are really something special, graphically. And the whole game has an excellent soundtrack.

[@richardabkstorm9009]

I just found your channel and subbed...Great vid fella, now I need to binge your other stuff too...Thank You 👍🙏

[@Vienna3080]

Some of these games prove you don’t need a Mode 7 to do amazing Games that hold up

[@reagandow850]

Wow. You found some games I wasn’t even aware of for the Sega. Great job!

[@derekforeal2245]

Just found this channel by accident and let me tell how glad I am that I did. You're content is off the charts enjoyable. Keep up the good work and I will be spreading the word to every one I know

[@darthramious1639]

Toy Story on Genesis/Mega Drive was incredibly ambitious, diverse, and a lot of fun

[@jh6025]

Awesome video. You speak so lovingly about the subject. It's very refreshing.

[@jamiemurphy5471]

As always great vid man! Your content is right up there with the Gaming Historian and AVGN! Watching your new videos is always a great way to kick off a weekend :)

[@FridayNightArcade]

Thank you for the kind words.

[@jasonblalock4429]

The best part about how incredibly robust the Genesis/MD hardware was? The Genesis had no need for expensive extra chips on the cartridge, which kept game prices down. Yeah, SNES developers could bolt extra chips onto their games to balance out the SNES's weak CPU and memory, but that drove cart prices up really fast. At its height, a single SNES game could cost up to $80, or even $100! OTOH, the Genesis only had a handful of games that didn't utilize stock hardware. Pretty much, it was only Sega's own port of Virtua Racer (which used a SuperFX-style graphics chip) and a couple Codemasters games that bolted extra controller ports onto the cart for 4-player play. So prices for the library remained reasonable, even for the most advanced games.

[@RodrigoDavy]

I think you're really overestimating how many games in the SNES used extra chips. The number is actually low, less than 10% of SNES games, with a lot of them being Japanese games that were actually not released in the rest of the world. And the most used chip were DSPs which are actually quite simple and cheap, with a expensive chips like Capcom's Cx4 or Argonaut's Super FX used in very few games Many games that pushed the SNES limits like the DKC series, Super Castlevania 4, Chrono Trigger, etc... did so without the help of any chip whatsoever except for maybe SRAM for saving games and some extra RAM I'd argue though that the reason SNES games tend to have more games that feature additional hardware is because the system was designed from the beginning to allow that easily. The SNES had a weak processor, but it has lots of unique features like graphics, sound and even the controller that already makes it stand out from the Mega Drive anyway Heck, from the 10 best-selling SNES titles, only one uses additional hardware apart from SRAM: Super Mario Kart And we can argue that Sega tried to achieve the same goal of extending the hardware's capability but with a different strategy: using add-ons like the Mega CD and Mega 32X which, well, didn't fair as well because people needed to buy additional hardware to plug into their Mega Drive, they used an additional power socket each and game developers needed to make games which would only work for the portion of Mega Drive owner who happened to have bought the add-on

[@jasonblalock4429]

​@@RodrigoDavy Even if only ~10% of the SNES library utilized special add-on chips, that still amounts to more than 150 games. Compared to something like 5 for the Genesis. My point stands. And no, it's really not an apt comparison to talk about the Genesis add-ons like they're equivalent. Fundamentally, the SNES *always* struggled because of its weak core hardware, and that held it back. A few gimmicks like scaling backgrounds don't really change that. The SNES had some good games, but Nintendo kinda hobbled it with their hardware choices.

[@FridayNightArcade]

The SNES struggled, but they compensated for this with a googaplex of fantastic RPGs that didn't require much horsepower at all. So you know, there's that.

[@RodrigoDavy]

@@jasonblalock4429, I think it's more like 75 games which used special chips actually The transformation effect in Mode 7 made possible some games like F-Zero, Pilotwings and Super Mario Kart which were only possible because of it and even consoles like the Neo Geo couldn't offer anything similar. Even Sega themselves were so impressed by it that they included a very similar mode in the Mega CD which they proudly showed in the Special Stages of Sonic CD The games are kind of a taste question. For me personally, the Super Nintendo is the best console ever made due to the very impressive quality of many of its title and I'm not even counting RPGs as I'm not much of a fan I totally get people who prefer the Mega Drive too though, it also offered experiences which the Snes couldn't deliver and the SNES did have a rather weak CPU which they ironically chose for backward compatibility with the NES but never implemented it The thing is, I didn't grow up in North America and didn't watch those honestly lame TV commercials which apparently made people fight each other for video games? I had a SNES growing up and it was awesome and when I saw a Mega Drive it looked awesome too and I'd never miss the chance to play. I didn't think about CPUs, number of colors or anything like that, just the awesome games it console have and that's fine. I watch videos talking about the Mega Drive because I think it's a fine piece of hardware and had some amazing games (though I admit I don't like Sega games much, I prefer the 3rd party games for the Mega Drive myself) I just think that it's kind of unfair to SNES developers saying they didn't have some tricks under their sleeves. Every game takes a lot of money, skill and effort to develop and even the backgrounds of a simple RPG game might have a lot of effort put into it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJu0mp5tqtx_f7M

[@SonofSethoitae]

Star Cruiser is a neat (if janky) example of a game pushing polygons on standard Genesis hardware.

[@akildukes7499]

ORBOTS?! I loved that show!

[@HE360]

Terminator was another game on the Sega Genesis that pushed the Sega Genesis hardware. It came out around the same time when Super Nintendo were flexing their scaling and rotation and mode 7 graphics and did it naturally. So, Sega tried to get some of that stuff going on their hardware too. Thus, they tried to push the limits of the Sega Genesis hardware in trying to keep up with the Super Nintendo.

[@brianvetrano6817]

Thanks for mentioning zero tolerance ! I had that game and COMPLETELY forgot about it! Great game!

[@jaymzx2587]

Great video man, subscribed!

[@skippyb.coyote895]

Fantastic video! You did your research well and it shows, the only ones I could think of that you missed are Virtua Racing, Sonic 3D Blast, and the Japan only Panorama Cotton (which recently received a very nice English fan translation). Great job! =D

[@FridayNightArcade]

I almost included Panarama Cotton but to be honest, I didn't know enough about the franchise to feel like I could speak intelligently on it lol.

[@kylekeller7577]

That Final Batman bgm sounded like someone made and acid trance song on a genesis.

[@thenonexistinghero]

The game's filled with those kinds of tracks. It's a fantastic game soundtrack.

[@orenmauritzen8674]

Which is literally what they did

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

Puggsy was one that really pushed things to the limits, what with having a real physics engine controlling almost all in game objects. Oh, and a Sonic 3D style prerendered video intro (same team did both games).

[@FridayNightArcade]

Thanks - I'll have to check that one out.

[@adamgray1753]

One of my sisters loved that game. It was pretty much the only Sega Genesis game she would ever play for the longest time too.

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

@@adamgray1753 😄 I got pretty obsessed with it for a while too. Not just because of the neat gameplay mechanics, but the beautiful graphics and wonderful music. And that prerendered video intro! I'd never seen anything like it on the Mega Drive. The next time I saw that get done was Sonic 3D, which was done by the same development team.

[@patbrown911]

"And your ID badge, in the case you forgot who you are" 🤣🤣, I love this channel.

[@BeardTech]

There's some absolutely incredible games on this list: DEFINITELY checking out Zero Tolerance when I get the chance. Hadn't even heard of it till your video dude

[@Aristocards]

Always great to see another episode. I would recommend having a look at Aladdin on Sega Genesis.

[@FridayNightArcade]

Thank you - will check that one out!

[@Justinpitchford]

Excellent video! Cant wait to see whats next :) would love to see you cover other consoles :)

[@FridayNightArcade]

Thanks, Justin!

[@matthewlane518]

I didnt know that Vectorman and Wall E had the same basic story!

[@christianpalmer7899]

That's what I was thinking.

[@jtoumai]

Friday Night Arcades does what Others Don't

[@FridayNightArcade]

:D

[@iceg6621]

Spoon Love Doh!

[@fillasoul8364]

I see Vectorman, I click. Two of my favorite games. Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier are also great games that had some great visual effects, totally worth checking out.

[@FridayNightArcade]

Thanks. You might like my latest video... All Treasure games on the Sega Genesis including Gunstar and Alien Soldier.

[@classicmikecade]

Hey Aaron thanks for the video man! I enjoyed it thoroughly. I owned a Genesis as a kid but never played these! Some of my favs were the Streets of Rage series, Golden Axe series, Phantasy Star series, Castlevania Bloodlines, Shining Force 1 and 2, Shining in the Darkness, ahhh too many to mention. Keep up the great work!

[@lchambers56]

Check out Panorama Cotton. There's some amazing graphical stuff going on in that game!

[@IsaMariaUu]

I second this. Panorama Cotton is one of my favorite games on the console.

[@segare-trop-vieux3932]

Luis Chambers you are right, panorama cotton is a stunning visual game. It is very expensive nowadays....( at least 400$)

[@btokin4twenty]

@@IsaMariaUu ditto... love Panorama Cotton. i did a sprite mod for it so you can see through the character if you emulate it w/ the "TV Mode (CVBS)" filter in kega fusion, or play it on an old crt tv. =P

[@arcticridge]

looks pretty but the framerate sucks

[@luckytheif3312]

Still took a hit from the hardware's color limits.

[@tyleradam4836]

Formula One from Domark is insane. 3D graphics and solid gameplay with an FIA license for F1 drivers for the 1993 season.

[@KottonmouthNinja1153]

Ranger X in my opinion, the most impressive Genesis game in terms of graphics and gameplay.

[@youisiaint]

The hallway you fight the 2nd level boss in had some insane 3D background effects

[@dumpnchase]

As always well done. Didn’t know about a few of these.

[@FridayNightArcade]

Thanks - also awesome screen name.

[@ZANTYACS]

Ever played 'Comix zone' its to me the most unique and cool looking game on the console, you basically go through comic strips fighting dudes! Great video btw :P definitely subbed!

[@joelberlakovich8148]

Alien Soldier had crazy fast, dynamic sprites flying around the screen with relatively little slowdown. Also, Aladdin was so well animated and detailed!

[@MrsKwan-fz6mf]

I saw your ad. I thought that a retro video game arcade was finally going to open up in my area! Turns out that it was just your dang KZbin channel.

[@mrnygren2]

Pocahontas (Disney) has wonderful graphics for Sega.

[@mkefayati473]

How I miss the raccoon and the humming bird. And the tree , the wolves.. you remember that! Lol

[@MusicWizard85]

Starflight was another Genesis game way ahead of its time. It was a port of a PC game but it went on to inspire the Mass Effect series. You get to pick and name your crew, modify your ship, explore planets & solar systems, mine for minerals, interact with aliens where your responses have consequences, etc...

[@VideoGameBS]

Definitely a great selection... glad I didn’t miss any in my master list for the Mega Drive section but I had to check!

[@rayceeya8659]

WHOA, never even heard of Red Zone before. I would have been all over that back in the early 90s.

[@lsgreger2645]

I was enjoying my Friday morning routine of coffee and FNA, then I realized....Has it been two weeks already?

[@cdreyes81]

Vectorman and batman and robin blew my mind when they came out

[@RobertSeeJen]

I had seen the intro movie for the second game you mentioned many times, but I never knew about the rest of the technical wizardry that was to be seen further in. That is all super impressive.

[@Absolynth]

Vectorman. Truly an underrated classic. Though not without it's cult following no doubt, myself counted among them.

[@Fluffybutterpants]

Great video - Ranger X and Thunder Force IV were both very impressive.

[@misterturkturkle]

Not that visually impressive but one game that always impressed me on Sega [coming from a hardcore Nintendo fan] was the real time strategy game for Frank Herbert's Dune

[@bizulk]

Acknowledge !

[@Tiger351]

Zero Tolerance was an awesome game, I bought it for about $10 brand new on clearance when the stores were making space for Saturn games. I didn't have a PC at the time so it scratched my itch to play something similar to doom.

[@raiverns9620]

I still maintain batman and robin is just an arcade system and rom board stuffed into a megadrive cart

[@__tengu__]

I remember being impressed even as a young kid with Vectorman. On a prefect Friday back then, my parents would take my sister and I to blockbuster and lets us each pick one movie to rent. I would of course instead rent a video game and Vectorman was one of those games. I rented so many games back then but Vectorman always stood out.

[@MegaDriveProfile]

A good list! I hope you do another one because there are certainly more!

[@FridayNightArcade]

Hey thanks! There will definitely be sequels to this video... Right now I'm working on a specific feature on Treasure games ......

[@MegaDriveProfile]

@@FridayNightArcade Anything treasure related I am game for!

[@Dj.D25]

Kind of surprised the games developed by Treasure didn't get mentioned here, since they really pushed the limits of what was possible with the Genesis, at least in 2D. Gunstar Heroes especially when playing certain stages and fighting certain bosses. Sonic 3D Blast is also impressive. Not just the pre-rendered graphics, but I liked that they managed to put in an FMV intro before the title screen. And that FMV looks better than most FMV clips I've seen on Sega CD. Ranger X is also a noticeable game, not just by special effects, but there seems to be more colors displayed on screen than what Genesis normally allows, so it looks kind of like a Snes game.

[@Dj.D25]

@@rootykazooty351 Yeah, I played it and it's amazing. Especially with all the moves you can do with just 3 buttons and the crazy bosses you fight.

[@macross3730]

Thunderforce 4 best shoot em up on megadrive, awesome metal soundtrack.

[@tomchamberlain4329]

*Awesome half metal half jazz funk soundtrack

[@Imgema]

Batman & Robin is like a collection of demoscene projects fused in one game.

[@unconbentional2044]

Panorama Cotton is a Japan only release. It's a Space Harrier knock off with a pink haired anime witch flying on a broom stick. Great video! Always look forward to them!

[@SteveBrandon]

Panorama Cotton is definitely in my top 5 games I wish had been included on the Genesis Mini as a bonus "never before officially available in the West" game.

[@benbehzadpour1177]

Yeah I love those late Genesis games so much. You could just feel the Genesis straining every hertz to keep up the performance. A system built in 1989 had no business playing software that demanding but... GENESIS DOES!!! Even a lot of SNES fans were impressed that it could push so much pixel. Some of my favorite late Genesis games were... Earthworm Jim 2, Phantasy Star IV, Toy Story, X-Men 2 Clone Wars, Ristar, Beyond Oasis, Stargate, Gargoyles, Light Crusader, Comix Zone, Judge Dredd, Phantom 2040, Contra Hard Corps, Mega Turrican, Crusader of Centy and Castlevania Bloodlines.

[@Phenylalanin1979]

Capcom's "The Great Circus Mystery starring Mickey & Minnie" from 1994 is really up there for me in terms of visuals and especially the sound and music is great for a Mega Drive version of a SNES games. Alien Soldier is very nice too. I remember the huge characters and fast smooth gameplay. Great game.

[@MrOrcshaman]

6:29 OMG, the Mad Hatters boss stage O.o. This stage was so mind blowing for its time, that I made a bookstand in my art class inspired by the design.

[@yuvraj01]

Its great you included Star Cruiser, and it deserves respect for what achieved with stock genesis hardware back in 1990..with the SNES needing the SuperFX chip for major assistance just to pull of its own Star Cruiser....I only became aware of the title a few years ago...and it formed a part of my new view of the genesis for a system probably built in the mid-80's (1986/87) to go toe-to-toe with a system that didn't release until 2 years after the genesis debut for a good 7-8 years is commendable.....just a shame Sega shot themselves in the foot after their one-hit-wonder of a console...

[@Kank14]

Great video, keep up the good work.

[@FridayNightArcade]

Hey thanks!

[@danielt.8573]

I miss the feeling of actually having the money to purchase a new game, informing myself of what was good in a few magazines, travelling to the store in antecipation, taking it from the shelf where so many colorful others were, smelling the scent of new plastic and paper, bringing it home in a physical jewel case while reading the manual, physically plug the cartridge into the console and play the game forever.

[@nightmuffin937]

*Vectorman 1 & 2 *Jurassic Park: The Lost World *Virtue Racing *Ecco: The Tides of Time *Sonic 3D Blast (This might be underrated or Unpopular opinion but I remember being Mindblown from playing Sonic 3D blast back in the mid-90s.)

[@livingdeadfitness1528]

Vectorman was one of the earliest videogames I played, but it was HARD AF for me. I was only 5-6 when I played it. Have it on the sega classics on PS4 now.

[@chzzyg2698]

I was obsessed with Zero Tolerance back then. I remember being so excited to beat it because it was such a long game with limited lives. Always wanted to see a sequel or a remake of it. It deserves some sort of attention.

[@itsbmeGaming]

I remember walking into Best Buy when it had first opened in my city, and way up high near the middle of the store I could see big screens showing the latest games. Vectorman was on one of the screens, and man it looked so epic.

[@kdowning2715]

I only stopped to watch this video because I caught a glimpse of Vectorman! I'm always talking about Vectorman on the rare occasion that Sega and Genesis comes up. This was my favorite damn game as a kid. I wasted countless batteries and hours playing it on my Nomad! No one ever talks about Vectorman; so thank you.

[@SuperKokuJin916]

Rocket Knight Adventures stands as Konami's best original IP of the 16-bit era IMO. Graphics, music, and gameplay ALL memorable. This should've been included on the Genesis Mini. *Dirk Diggler voice* It's that good!! 🤣 Nobody asked for Virtua Fighter 2. Everyone asked for Rocket Knight Adventures. We got hosed on this one. Honorable mentions to Gauntlet IV, Strider, and TMNT-Hyperstone Heist.

[@CardboardSliver]

Genesis got Sparkster, Which is Rocket Knight Adventures 2. The SNES Sparkster is a different game.

[@KottonmouthNinja1153]

Agreed

[@KottonmouthNinja1153]

Agreed

[@KottonmouthNinja1153]

Sorry, keep clicking the wrong button I guess. Didn't mean to spam you

[@RetroPiero]

Alien Soldier is among the most visually appealing games on the Mega Drive that pushes everything the system has to offer in terms of effects.

[@Wolfdragon92584]

Mazin Saga gets a vote for me. Extremely fluid animations, vivid colorization, and the boss fights look like they could be on the Neo Geo.

[@RetroGameNova]

Great list! I feel Comix Zone didn't push the limit but overall looked AMAZING on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive

[@robertdaone]

Your forgot Strider. That game really push the limits of the Genesis so that means your list isn't complete.

[@HappyFrogGamesLLC]

Alien Soldier is just mind boggling. The soundtrack and the graphics are impressive, and the framerate is *really* impressive given the graphics and fast movement speed of the game (meaning tons of scrolling stuff on and off screen and loading and unloading stuff rapidly, something which is a potential source of lag on hardware in some cases, even on a cartridge if it happens *that* often). The game features things like scaling and rotation effects just for starters, and also some rather smooth animations, and ridiculously large bosses. There's also Contra Hard Corps, wherein I feel like somebody at Konami surely must have asked "okay, so how many special effects are we gonna have in the game?" and the response surely must have been "ALL OF THEM! ALL THE SPECIAL EFFECTS", because wow, that game loves its fancy visual effects. Also has a delightful techno soundtrack. Might I also recommend Pulseman? Do be careful with it because the game is absolutely an epilepsy risk, but the game's... *unique* visuals can be pretty technologically impressive at times as well. Also made by Game Freak. Yes, *that* Game Freak. Yes, the company later famous for Pokemon made a Sega Genesis game. Oh yeah, also gotta mention the fact that the game actually had a fair amount of voice acting in it too, including some fully-voiced cutscenes! (The audio quality was a *bit* meh on the voice clips, sure, but that's probably partially due to space limits when one keeps in mind just how many voice clips it has.)

[@dbnpoldermans4120]

Boldly requesting a part II of this video

[@jeffm5056]

A shooter that no one mentions is Bio Hazard Battle. Excellent music and just the right amount of challenge. If you beat that game, it’s because you earned it.

[@yannickstevens4021]

Jesper Kyd is one of my fav game composers. The sound system (not sure what its technical name would be) that he made for Red Zone- which you cover here, and was also used in Sub-Terrania, one of my fav Genesis games- was used in the Adventures of Batman & Robin game!

[@schtive81]

F1 and Kawasaki Superbike use an impressive mix of flat shaded polygons and simulated sprite scaling. Both games were made by a developer named Domark. Toy Story also makes impressive use of the hardware. Dynamite Heady is an impressive looking game made by Treasure. Just about all of Treasure game on the Genesis is technically impressive. Panarama Cotton is also another choice. Abrams Battle Tank is an early release from EA that makes great use of polygons as well. Also, look up the homebrew port of Wolfenstein 3D.

[@emilyapricot1313]

The Adventures of Batman and Robin was a blast to play Co Op, and really rewarding to get good at. My friend and I also jammed to MP3s of the soundtrack.

[@danielt.8573]

Aladdin, Streets of Rage 2, Sonic 3D, Earthworm Jim 1 & 2, Toy Story, Mickey Mania, Lion King, Jurassic Park - The lost World, Dynamite Headdy, Seaquest, Tintin in Tibet, Kawasaki Superbikes, Virtua Racing, Flashback, Comix Zone, The Pagemaster...

[@henrlima87]

Virtua racer. I think it was called. You could drive a sort of f1 like car. It looked awesome

[@miguelalves7333]

I was expecting Comix Zone to be on this list. Game looks fantastic and still holds up

[@trevagraham1605]

I know it wasn't all console hardware alone, but Virtua Racing for the Genesis was beautiful! I still remember getting off of work one Saturday afternoon back in 1994 when I was 17 and going to Toys R Us and putting down $89 + tax on that bad boy. It was worth every penny.